The Il'Fannor class cruiser (designated as Merchant class by the Imperium) was the next major ship designed by the Tau after the Gal'leath class battleship. It was originally designed to become the new workhouse of the fledgling Tau Empire, its warp drives being able to reach a third of normal warp speed. As the Gal'Leath proved ineffective as a military vessel against the Orks, the Merchant was heavily redesigned into a cheap and effective (if rather slow) warship that remained the Tau's mainline military ship until the advent of the Lar'shi class. As a cruiser, it lacks the hard-hitting firepower, speed and durability of those of the other major races, but makes up for it by being very cheap and easy to produce.1,2
Configurations
There exist two current configurations of the Il'fannor cruiser, the Ke'lshan and Dal'yth.1,2
Ke'lshan Conguration
The more popular design incorporates mid-range port, prow and starboard Railgun batteries that are able to fire in multiple arcs. They also utilise two Gravitic Hooks that can transport smaller vessels that do not have their own warp drives.
Dal'yth Configuration
This subtle redesign replaces the Gravitic Hooks with short range Ion Cannons and is thus able to be better utilised in up close engagements independently.
| Tau Navy | |
|---|---|
| Battleships | Gal'leath • Or'es El'leath |
| Cruisers | Il'fannor • Lar'shi • Il'Porrui • Lar'shi'vre |
| Escorts | Kir'qath • Skether'qan • Kass'l • Kir'la • Kir'shasvre |
| Other | Il'Emaar • Blindshark |
| Attack Craft | Manta • Barracuda • Tiger Shark • Remora Fighter • Orca • Sun Shark • Razorshark |
| Allied | Kroot Warsphere • Nicassar Dhow • Stronghold Class Commerce Vessel • Bastion Class Commerce Vessel • Citadel Class Commerce Vessel Vespid Nest Vessel • Greet Lineship • Greet Stealther • Domati Wyrmship • Ostense Council Winged Disc • Automated Carrier Drone • Automated Bombing Drone • Automated Fighting Drone |
Sources
- 1 Armada Appendices, page 102
- 2 Games Workshop, Specialist Games, Resources, Tau Fleets[1]
